of all the things my hands have held
by splendidlyimperfect
Summary: An early morning wake-up leads to family cuddles on the couch.


Sting woke up to something heavy on his chest.

"Go back to bed," he grumbled, cracking an eye open and glancing over at the clock. "'s six in the morning."

The weight on his chest bounced up and down a few times, and then pudgy hands were on either side of Sting's face.

"Up, Papa!"

Sting yawned, pushing himself up on his elbows until the little girl tumbled down onto the bed next to him. She sat up, grinning.

"Noemi, darling, it's too early to be awake." Sting kissed her forehead, brushing her bright blue hair out of her eyes. He looked over to the other side of the bed where Natsu would normally be snoring in a lump, but it was empty.

"Daddy says come play _Breath of the Wild _with me," Noemi said, tugging on Sting's hand. He rolled his eyes, grabbing his daughter and pulling her into a hug. She made a happy noise and curled up against him, and he tugged the blankets over them both, flopping back against the pillow.

"Daddy is silly," Sting said, kissing Noemi's head. "'s too early for games."

"Nu-uh," Noemi said, shaking her head. "It says the six! You said no if it's five or four, but it's six!" She pointed at the clock and Sting sighed.

"This is because Daddy let you stay up watching TV last night while Papa was at work," he grumbled. "He's ridiculous."

"No, _you," _Noemi insisted, giggling. She hugged Sting tightly around the neck, then jumped up again, grabbing his arm and pulling. "Up, up, up!"

Sting yawned again and eventually sat up, kicking his feet over the edge of the bed as Noemi bounced excitedly by the door of the bedroom. He tugged on a sweater, then stood up and stretched. Lector, who had been sleeping contentedly on Natsu's pillow, jumped up and meowed, hopping off the bed and sauntering over to rub himself against Noemi's legs.

"Gentle," Sting cautioned as Noemi patted Lector's head. Happy was generally more patient than Lector, especially because Noemi had the habit of trying to pick Lector up and hug him.

The two of them headed down the stairs, and the smell of coffee enticed Sting into the kitchen.

"Hey, you." Natsu turned from where he was standing by the coffee machine and smiled at Sting. Sting frowned, gesturing at Noemi, who had flung herself onto the couch and was turning on the TV.

"This is what happens when she falls asleep watching _She-Ra _at ten-thirty at night," Sting said, crossing his arms over his chest. Natsu rolled his eyes, grabbing a cup of coffee and handing it to Sting, who took it gratefully.

"It was just once," Natsu argued, slipping his arms around Sting's waist as Sting sipped the coffee. Natsu kissed Sting's neck, sliding his hands under Sting's shirt and running warm hands up his back.

Sting hummed, leaning into Natsu, then frowning and pulling away half-heartedly. "Don't make me love you," he insisted, pushing gently at Natsu's chest. "'m tryin' to be mad at you."

"You can't be mad at me, I'm adorable," Natsu teased. Sting rolled his eyes as Natsu moved behind him and ran his hands over Sting's stomach, rubbing his thumbs in circles over Sting's hips. Sting sighed, tipping his head back against Natsu's shoulders. Natsu kissed his cheek and Sting turned, catching the kiss with his lips instead.

"Papaaaaa," Noemi called, bouncing on the couch and holding out the controller. "Come play! Stop kissing!"

A soft babbling suddenly came through the baby monitor that sat on the counter, and Sting poked Natsu.

"I'm blaming this one you, too," he said, kissing Natsu's nose. "Hang on a sec, sweet pea," he said to Noemi, disentangling himself from Natsu and setting down his coffee. "Sounds like your brother's up." As he moved to leave the kitchen, he turned around and pointed at Natsu. "You'd better make me waffles to make up for this."

"Anything for you, darling," Natsu said, grinning. "Waffles, coming right up."

Sting rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at Natsu before heading up the stairs to Eliot's room.

"Hello, my sunshine," Sting said softly, lifting Eliot from his crib. Eliot babbled happily, chewing on his fist. "How's my boy?" Eliot squealed, reaching up to grab Sting's earring. "Ah, ah," Sting said, pushing Eliot's hand away. "Gentle." He kissed the top of Eliot's head, then headed back down to the living room.

A few minutes later, Sting was settled in the corner of the couch, Eliot on his lap as he navigated the controls for Noemi's game. She snuggled up next to him, yawning and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I like you, Papa," she said sleepily. Sting felt a warm wash of affection in his chest, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"I like you too, bumblebee," he said. He sighed contentedly, smiling as both Lector and Happy hopped up on the couch and settled onto his legs.

"You guys are adorable," Natsu said, appearing in the doorway. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, leaning back and snapping a quick picture of them before coming over and flopping down next to Noemi.

"Daddyyyy," she squeaked as he squeezed her between him and Sting. "You're squishing me!" Natsu laughed, leaning over her head and running his fingers through Sting's hair, then pulling him in for a kiss.

"I love you," Natsu said quietly against Sting's lips. Sting hummed in agreement, kissing Natsu's nose, then laughing as Eliot reached up and grabbed Natsu's hair. Natsu gently disentangled Eliot's fingers, then pulled Eliot onto his lap, bouncing his knees.

"We can go to the park today?" Noemi asked, wriggling out from between them and climbing into Sting's legs, dislodging both cats.

"Sure," Natsu said, bopping her on the nose and standing up. He shifted Eliot onto his hip and gestured to the kitchen, smiling at Sting. "But first, I promised Papa some waffles."


End file.
